Enumclaw ( EE-nəm-klaw) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,669 at the 2010 census. The 2019 estimate is 12,190.

The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier nearly 5,700 years ago.

The publish Enumclaw is derived from a Salish term that translates as “place of evil spirits”, apparently referring to Enumclaw Mountain, located more or less 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north. The mountain’s publicize was derived from an evil incident that occurred there or to the occasional powerful windstorms from the east that conduct yourself the region. Native American mythology tells the tab of two brothers – Enumclaw and Kapoonis – who were turned into thunder and lightning, respectively, by their father. The City of Enumclaw says the declare means “thundering noise”.

One of the first white settlers in south King County was Allen L. Porter. In 1853, he claimed a 320-acre (1.3 km²) parcel on the White River, about three miles (5 km) west of the site of Enumclaw. He maintained a troubled relationship with the local Smalkamish tribe (some of the ancestors of the Muckleshoot tribe) for some time, and in 1855 his cabin was burned to the ground. Porter, who had been warned at the forefront by a friend in the tribe, hid in the woods until they had left. After rebuke the settlers at Fort Steilacoom, he left the area, moving to Roy. He would never return to Enumclaw.

Enumclaw itself was homesteaded in 1879 by Frank and Mary Stevenson. In 1885, the Northern Pacific Railroad routed their transcontinental mainline through the site, accepting their pay for of cleared, level land on which to build a siding. Confident that the area would grow, the Stevensons filed a plat gone King County that thesame year. They built a hotel and gave away lots for a saloon and a general store.